Nicholas Walker is one of the most accomplished, yet unbelievably humble, persons I've ever had the pleasure of having a conversation with.

When we spoke over the phone last Thursday afternoon, Walker had just managed to clear a 30-minute chunk of time in his busy schedule (in between teaching, practicing, advising, and all the other things he manages to do in a day) to talk to me about all things double bass, American Dissonances, and FLEFF. In fact, as an associate professor of Performance Studies in the Ithaca College James J. Whalen School of Music, world traveler, and incredibly accomplished musician, "busy" might just be understatement to describe his life.

Walker has a long history of performance, having played all over North America, as well as in Australia, Russia, South Korea, China, the Netherlands,...

Nicholas Walker is one of the most accomplished, yet unbelievably humble, persons I've ever had the pleasure of having a conversation with.

When we spoke over the phone last Thursday afternoon, Walker had just managed to clear a 30-minute chunk of time in his busy schedule (in between teaching, practicing, advising, and all the other things he manages to do in a day) to talk to me about all things double bass, American Dissonances, and FLEFF. In fact, as an associate professor of Performance Studies in the Ithaca College James J. Whalen School of Music, world traveler, and incredibly accomplished musician, "busy" might just be understatement to describe his life.

Walker has a long history of performance, having played all over North America, as well as in Australia, Russia, South Korea, China, the Netherlands,...